Since the announcement made by the Zambian President, the legal and regulatory scenario within the Zambian nation is in a whirlwind. On the special occasion of Africa Day, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema made a stunning announcement, sharing his quest to abolish the death penalty row. This announcement received both positive and negative responses, more positive than negative. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani noted businessman, charity worker, and philanthropist from Zambia, also supported this announcement by stating that the death penalty is a cruel, inhumane, and degrading law, archaic and does not provide any solution for the Zambian government. Dr. Mahtani further iterated that the awareness towards abolishing the death penalty has grown significantly across the globe and Africa and this trend can be seen across Zambia too. As a result, the last capital execution was carried out in the year 1997 and since then, Presidents have been exercising strategies like mercy prerogatives to avoid the death penalty. Furthermore, the present condition of a majority of the prisons across Zambia is below standards with some of the maximum prisons having dangerously ill conditions. It has been observed that these prisons do not even provide basic human dignity for the prisoners. This has forced the Zambian government to look for strategic alternatives such as strategic decongestion of prisons.
Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani further stated from a religious point of view that capital punishment or the death penalty is not appropriate in the eyes of god. According to the teachings of Jesus Christ, his sacrifice on the cross was for all human beings who believed in him and his values. The teachings of Jesus Christ are against killing other human beings as he atoned for them. Furthermore, the teachings also suggested that taking the life of another human being should only be allowed for those without sins, which is a rare case on this planet. As such, Dr. Rajan Mahtani indicated that even from a religious point of view, capital punishment is not acceptable.